Sooners Step Up, Beat WSU 4-1

NORMAN – A total team effort in singles action lifted the No. 15 Oklahoma men’s tennis squad to victory Thursday night at the Headington Family Tennis Center. The Sooners defeated Wichita State, 4-1, despite dropping the doubles point and a facing injuries to members of the singles lineup.

“We knew Wichita State was going to be really tough coming in here. It was a bit of a tough week getting ready, but we did a good job facing some adversity there, losing the doubles point early, a couple of our guys going down (with injuries),” said head coach Nick Crowell. “Our guys on the bench came in and really stepped up big for us today.”

“I though Mason Bridegan did a great job at No. 5, holding his own down there. It looked like he was going to come back and force a third set. James Davis came off the bench, did an unbelievable job and got it done for us down there at (No. 6) and so, that was huge for us to be able to stay in those matches and not give those away.”

With the win, the Sooners extend their winning streak to five matches to improve to 11-1 on the season. Wichita State moves to 6-6 overall.

In the top spot in doubles, Jake Van Emburgh and Jochen Bertsch were forced to retire due to injury. No. 76 Murkel Dellien and Marius Frosa took the court to give Wichita State the first victory it needed to win the opening point.

The OU's British duo of James Davis and Max Stewart rolled to a 6-2 win over Eddie Stoica and Haru Inoue on court three in their first match as a pair.

That left court two to decide the point. Adrian Oetzbach and Ferran Calvo took Wichita State’s Miroslav Herzan and Andrea Caligiana to the wire, but lost after a tiebreaker, 7-6 (6), to give the Shockers the doubles point.

With a new lineup in singles play, the Sooners grabbed wins on courts one, two, three and six to clinch the match.

No. 85 Van Emburgh grabbed the Sooners’ first singles win of the day with a 7-6 (0), 6-1, victory over Murkel Dellien from the No. 3 line. The freshman traded games with Dellien to take the first set to a tiebreaker, which he dominated. Van Emburgh kept rolling, giving up just one game in the second set to close out the match. With the win, the freshman extended his winning streak to seven matches.

Davis had no trouble with Caligiana on court six, picking up a 6-3, 6-3 win to give the Sooners a 2-1 lead in the match. The freshman, who has primarily seen action in doubles, moves to 3-0 on the year. No. 40 Calvo defeated Frosa, 6-3, 6-4, on court two, never trailing in the match.

Oetzbach sealed the victory for the Sooners with a 6-4, 6-3, win over Inoue from the No. 1 line.

“It was the first time I’d ever played on (court) one, so it was kind of a special feeling and an honor for me to play one for OU, and I think it worked out great and I’m very happy that I got the W for my team,” said Oetzbach. “I’m very proud of our guys that we came back out and fought back and got the W today.”

“Adrian really came to play and I think that was one of the really big things for us. We saw him come out and beat a really good player,” said Crowell of the Velbert, Germany native.

When play was halted, Max Stewart was headed to a third set with Miroslav Herzan on court four. The freshman won the first frame, 6-4, before Herzan turned the tables to take set two, 3-6, and force a deciding set.

Mason Bridegan was locked in at 4-4 in his second set on court five. The senior dropped his first set to Stoica after a battle, 7-6 (4).

The Sooners are back in action Saturday, when they host No. 36 Drake at 1 p.m. CT at the Headington Family Tennis Center.

Admission is free. Weather permitting, the match will be played outdoors.